Councilmember Oliver L. Baines, III joined the Fresno City Council as the District Three representative in January 2011. Prior to his election to the City Council he was an officer with the Fresno Police Department for 11 years, assigned to the Problem Oriented Policing (P.O.P.) unit in the Southwest District. As an officer, Oliver has distinguished himself in the department and with his peers.

As part of his community policing philosophy, Oliver believed in holding individuals accountable for thier actions, if they continue to create public nuisances or disrupt our neighborhoods. Something he has taken to City Hall as a councilmember.

Oliver is compassionate for the community where he lives and works, and now serves as the district representative on the City Council. He has helped integrate parolees back into society by working with organizations such as the “Gentleman’s Club,” and by mentoring youth. As part of his commitment to combating juvenile crime, Oliver has organized basketball tournaments in low-income neighborhoods.

Because of his work Oliver has received several official honors, including a commendation and a peer commendation from the Fresno Police Department. Oliver was named Officer of the Year for the Southwest Policing District in 2008, and he has also been awarded two medals for saving lives.

Aside from his work as a public servant, Oliver co-owns AOP Embroidery, a custom embroidery business that provides services for various organizations, schools and the general community with his wife LaShawn. He also serves as Chairman of the Board for the Fresno Career Development Institute, a non-profit focused on job training and education.

Despite his busy schedule, Oliver is committed to community service. From 2006 to 2010 he served as chair of “Bringing Broken Neighborhoods Back to Life“, an organization formed because of a federal ‘Weed & Seed’ grant. This group helps residents of crime-ridden neighborhoods to organize themselves and to clear their streets of gangs and violence. The main outreach method is a community block party that can draw up to 1,000 people. Currently, the group hosts more than 20 such block parties each year between April and October.

Oliver helped foster “Santa’s Village” in its beginning years, an event developed so children from some of the poorest areas of Fresno could meet Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa’s Village hosts more than 3,000 families annually from all over Fresno County, and provides children the opportunity to be photographed with Santa, a gingerbread house, food, clothing, gifts for children, and access to vendors.

Oliver has lived in Fresno for more than 20 years, Oliver and his wife have been married for more than 10 years. Their daughter Ashley, who lives in Fresno with her daughter, is a graduate of Edison High School, and currently attends California State University, Fresno.